The Fairest Rose
by Chimebelle
Summary: Despite everything, Harry loved this new life; she wouldn't trade her baby brother for the entire world. Everything was perfect. ...Or it would have been, if Zack didn't insist on becoming a hero. Being a hero was overrated; Harry knew that intimately from firsthand experience. But would Zack be Zack if he listened? And so, Harry gets involved in the mess that is Shinra.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Everything was different in this world, even the stars that dotted the night sky. There was no Northern Star, Orion... _Sirius_. But she had a family. A wonderful mom. A brilliant dad. And a precious, precious baby brother she wouldn't trade for the entire world. Everything was perfect. ****...Or it would have been, only if her baby brother didn't insist on saving the world. Because being a hero was definitely overrated. Harry knew that intimately from firsthand experience. But would Zach be Zach if he _listened_? And so, Harry gets involved in the mess that is Shinra. **

**Warning: The only knowledge of FF7 I have is from fanfiction. Very, very slow romance.**

 **FemHarry. Rufus/Harry. Slow Romance. Plenty of Zach the Turks and the other SOLDIERs.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy.**

* * *

It was a new life, an opportunity that Harry had never even dreamed of.

Deep chuckles and childish giggles interrupted Harry's reading. She was relaxed on the comfortable chair of the living room, with a novel on her lap. The room was cozy and the atmosphere cried home. Tearing her eyes off the text, she found herself chuckling along as she spotted her little brother and Father laughing merrily, locked in an impromptu wrestling match. Then she realized that the steady sound of knives hitting the wooden board had also stopped. Harry glanced up to see her Mother standing in the kitchen, pausing midway from cooking dinner to laugh happily at the two. Mother and daughter's eyes met, and both exchanged contented, amused smiles.

Her name was Hadrienne Fair, firstborn daughter of the Fair Family in Gongaga and older sister to Zachary Fair. But she had another name that she swore not to forget. Harry James Potter, Lord of both Potter and Black and the only son of James and Lily Potter.

It had been confusing, when Harry first felt pain when he was supposed to be… dead. He had expected the train, and maybe his loved ones waiting on the other side. Instead he had felt terror of being born; pressure of being squeezed by all sides and realizing that everything was freezing. He could not see, but he could hear, and the sounds had been confusing, incomprehensible, and to be completely honest, panic- inducing.

Time passed, and Harry realized that he had two ordinary, loving parents. The fact that he was a she rather was a shock to him, but what had him most troubled was this new life that he never wanted. So he denied the fact that faced him, insisting on being called Harry instead of his given name Hadrienne, denying everything and being withdrawn, worrying his parents.

But one day, Mother had gotten pregnant.

When Zach was born, Harry fell in love with the toddler at first sight. He was, no, she was an older sister. She had never had siblings before, and the responsibility daunted her, but she wasn't the type to back away from a challenge. She promised herself that she would take care of her little brother. That she would teach him, protect him, love him. Her sibling's birth awakened something that had been missing before in Harry's life.

 _A purpose._

It was strange how a goal in life could do to a person.

* * *

The word Harry found herself in was very different from her previous one. The world was called Gaia, and seemed a strange mixture of the future and past of the Muggle world. It was more advanced and at the same times _more backwards_ than what she was used to. It was basically a kingdom ruled by a king, well, tyrant. The said tyrant was head of a Company, of all things. There were cars and airships, guns and swords coexisting. Ah, in this world, Gaia, there were no witches or wizards either. But strangely, there was magic _._ Harry's magical core had carried on to this world, and her reserves were as same as the day she died. There also existed magical creatures, or more accurately, monsters. None seemed intelligent, unlike others Harry had seen in the Wizarding World such as werewolves, centaurs, merepeople, veelas, vampires, house-elves, phoenixes, or even basilisks, but they were plenty dangerous, like Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts and Aragog.

They were a threat. Most could easily take an unsuspecting civilian out, and hiring mercenaries to get rid of such creatures cost money. It was a dangerous world, so unlike that of Earth's. At least on Earth, one did not have to worry about fighting dragons (unless you entered the Triwizard Tournament) or being killed by wild beasts by just stepping outside of the village.

Most who wished to be somewhat self sufficient and travel learned the basics of physical self defense.

But what Harry wanted to test out today was Magic.

She could feel it deep in the earth, the stirrings of it, just waiting to be drawn out and used. And the monsters were definitely magic. Enhanced, the lot of them, and who ever heard of nonmagical creatures who could breathe fire? From books, she also knew the people could perform magic though very limited through an item called materia. She would love to get her hands on one, but for now, she was going to test her own magic, the one she trained in Hogwarts and polished during the wars and as an Auror out in combat.

Technically, she had tested out her magic already. It was exactly like learning wandless magic- doable, but difficult. But the important thing was that she'd never tried using her magic against other magical creatures.

Who knew how her magic would react to these different creatures?

* * *

Harry went out to the outskirts of her town, flirting in the edge of the forest. She picked a place where she could easily outrun bigger monsters and where smaller ones mostly resided.

Her parents trusted her to be left alone, and her brother was occupied in a task she gave him just hours ago. There was nothing to bother her.

Harry spotted a small green thing- it looked harmless, but… "Incendio!" she cried. The creature was hit, and it seemed obviously winded, but instead of catching on fire it shrugged it off and lunged at her.

Harry dodged. The monsters were magic, obviously throwing spells off with ease. But it was still damaged. She sent another batch of flames to distract it and shot a strong confounding hex. Using the bought time, she crept behind the monster. It shook his head right and left, obviously confused.

Harry sent a cutting curse, but that barely made a paper cut. The pain seemed to allow the thing to snap back into attention. "Ugh" Harry used a blasting curse to push it away, but the damn thing kept coming. Harry looked frantically for cover, but found none.

The monster was close, just a feet or two away. With danger so near, Harry finally could gain enough composure to let her panic recede. Her thoughts began to clear as she began to calm down. _Power._ Her spells would have been perfect on any nonmagical being, but this monster was not magicless. It had its own power protecting it. Harry just needed to overpower it.

She hurled an overpowered cutting hex with much force as she could muster.

The monster's body was cut clear in half. Harry smiled grimly, satisfied.

Now all she needed was practice.

* * *

Stargazing.

It was a hobby she gained in this new world. Everything was different here. There was no Northern star, Big Dipper, Orion... Sirius. But she could make new constellations of her own.

"Harry?" inquired Zach from below.

"Hmm?" Harry replied thoughtlessly, her back leaning against the tree trunk and legs swinging softly along with the breeze.

"Mother said you're not allowed to climb trees that high!" shouted Zach, cupping his lips with his hands. His voice held amusement though, without worries or signs of tattling.

Of course not. Zach was of belief that his sister could do no wrong- a sentiment Harry greatly encouraged.

Harry finally tore her gaze from the sky and to her baby brother.

"Afraid?" she taunted.

"Of course not!" he huffed.

Harry slowly stretched her legs, and took her sweet time placing both on the trunk. Her gaze was again fixed on the stars. She didn't want to climb down now, when she was so high that she could fool herself into believing that she could reach them... But shook her head ruefully.

Harry climbed down swiftly. At five feet above the ground, she pushed herself off from the tree and landed on all fours with a soft thump. Magic aided the gentle fall. She probably could do it higher but, well, her little brother was watching and she had to set a model for him, right? It would be terrible if he broke a leg while attempting to imitate her.

Zach's eyes went starry. "Wow"

Harry grinned, elated at her jump as well as her brother's obvious admiration.

"I can teach you," she offered.

Zach crowed "Yes!" as he pumped his small fists excitedly. His enthusiasm brought a smile to Harry's lips.

It always went like this. Harry would pull a stunt. Zach would wish to learn to do it too. She'd teach him. Then Harry would pull another.

And repeat.

She loved her brother. And Zach loved her too.

They were inseparable.

* * *

But then, a letter came.

It was a recruiting pamphlet. To be more exact, Shinra's recruiting pamphlet, asking for recruits for a newly made army- SOLDIERS.

And once Zach laid his eyes upon it, she'd lost him. Or, she hadn't lost him, but he'd grown up, way too fast for her liking.

Zach had a dream. And he knew exactly how to achieve it.

"I want to be a hero!"

* * *

Mother worried. Father worried. But Harry was the one who worried the most.

She remembered her past life, as the reluctant Savior. She had struggled so much had sacrificed too much. She had later in life, chosen to be an Auror, because like it or not, she could admit that she was somewhat addicted to that danger, the thrill. But Zach was only fifteen. Fifteen was too early to choose such a life- and no matter how Shinra wrapped the opportunity with pretty words such as destiny, heroism, and pride of the nation, it didn't change reality that practically screamed that this would sign her brother's life to Shinra forever.

...But what was she saying? This was Zachary Fair. Of course he wasn't deterred.

He had dreams, big ones, and he would not give in easily. Not even to his family. Not even to his favorite (only) sister.

It made Harry very proud, despite being worried.

* * *

"If you want to join SOLDIER, I'm not letting you go anywhere without proper training."

Zach watched his sister warily. He knew she was dangerous when she was in one of her moods, and she had never looked as threatening as now.

"Training?" questioned Zach. "Sis, give me some credit. Since we were very little, you've been training me. I didn't realize until later, but..."

He smiled wryly. "I always wondered why you never used your pocket change. You always saved it, everything, even the money you made by killing monsters with me around town. And the first thing you bought with that hard-earned money was a _heal materia_ , Harry. Which you gifted _me_."

And with the fact that materia was very expensive and rare to buy in Gongola, she supposed it was quite telling. Maybe Harry was reading into Zach too deeply, but she didn't think so. Her brother was not dumb. He might have been open and goofy, with bright smiles for _everybody,_ but he was sharp.

"I wanted you protected. Always."

Zach ruffled Harry's hair. Harry glared, slapping Zach's hand away. But her heart was not in it.

She sighed. "You're right. I have been training you, in a way. But everything we've done together- it wasn't proper training, Zach. Educational, but still, not enough." She narrowed her eyes. "At least not to my standards, that is, if you want to become a soldier, instead of a simple farmer."

"Harry-"

"Just three months, Zach." Harry pleaded, staring into her brother's eyes. "It won't hurt to learn a few things, and I... Think of it as amusing your favorite sister. Please?"

Zach raised his eyebrows. "And what exactly will you teach me in that short amount of time? We've been doing physical excersises for years, I might not be at your level but I can use heal and escape materia to your approval, and just last week you complimented me in my quick thinking for battle strategies when we went monster hunting earlier. You even taught me a style of sword fighting, and I know that in SOLDIER, they will be teaching me their standard form. I'm ready, Harry."

He was right. That did not mean that she had to like it.

"Sis, this is really it for me. You didn't think that I would be satisfied living as a farmer like our dad, now did you?"

He pleaded, making sure to make his eyes extra wide with a bright smile.

Harry rushed to hug her brother, long and hard. "Alright. But don't you dare die on me, mister!" she murmured into his shirt.

He hugged her back. "Of course not. Don't worry, Harry."

* * *

Zach convinced them all, their entire family of four, and earned the blessings of the rest of the village to boot.

In the end, in just fifteen years, her little brother had grown up and left.

Harry watched her talkative, enthusiastic brother walk out the chapter of their lives that marked their childhood. Grinning and looking back frequently, hand waving fervently as he walked out of their small village.

Harry stood in front of the gates, waving her hands, smiling maybe a tad too brightly to be natural.

Harry was proud. And maybe, a little wistful too.

* * *

Three years passed. Zach's letters still came, though it grew less and less frequent each passing year. And after, Harry could not stand it anymore.

She missed him. And a life without her brother...

But maybe even more importantly, she had to admit that she was bored. Hadrienne Fair might have been a simple farm girl. But she was also Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World and the best Auror that world had ever seen who had life threatening adventures every year since eleven. A life as a village girl who's biggest problems was marriage; well, that just was not Harry.

She talked to her parents, and packed her bags. With one last hug and a glance at her small, but loveable hometown, she set for Midgar.

* * *

Midgar. It was a bumbling city. Harry looked around with wide eyes at the half-finished yet still towering buildings and well polished cement roads. It was so very different from Gongaga.

In her rapture, she might have forgotten herself. She wandered into the slums, and made herself stand out a bit too much with her ignorance. Well, in her defense, it had been a long time since she'd visited a city. …Pitiful excuse, she knew.

Anyways, it was only a matter of time when she was surrounded by six burly men with less than innocent intentions.

Harry didn't want to fight. She was in great physical shape, but even that wasn't enough to allow her to face six grown men physically and win. Magic would make this easy, but using the ability... She did not possess materia because she had given them all to Zach, so how would she explain it to the strangers of Midgar of her magic? Not that she would tell them if asked, but Midgar was Shinra's headquarters, and she did not wish to stand out if it was possible.

It wouldn't do good to attract unwanted attention. Well, _more_ attention.

So obviously, her best option was running.

When one stepped forward to grab her, she sidestepped, making him temporarily lose balance and ran. The other five yelled and began to give chase, but Harry had been an Auror her past life and she hadn't been lazy in this one either.

She ran past them, and despite not having extensive knowledge of these backwater streets of Midgar, she managed to avoid the dead ends and continue to outpace them.

Until…

She crashed into the hard chest of a man, and tumbled down, loosing balance. Instant dread began to pool in her stomach.

She tried to stand up, but was surprised by a hand in front of her face. She looked at the offered hand, disbelievingly.

"Are you alright, miss?" the man questioned politely.

She lifted her gaze up and was met face to face with a young man about her age with bright blond hair and icy blue eyes, wearing a white suit. His face was neither welcoming nor worried. Feeling uncomfortable, yet thinking it rude to refuse, she took his hands. He pulled her up. She fixed her clothing, brushing it down.

After straightening herself, she replied. "I apologize, I should have watched where I was going." He stared at her, without any reply. Concern filled her voice. "Are you hurt?" Harry asked worriedly, suddenly wondering if she did more damage than she thought and scanning him up and down.

The man smirked. "I am fine. It is you who took the fall."

Harry blinked. Then she ducked her head in embarrassment. "I really am sorry, sir. And thank you for-"

"There she is!"

Harry and the man turned as one to see six burly men racing towards them. One had his index finger pointed straight at her. Harry tried to turn tail and run.

"Wait," commanded the man, and stopped her, by gripping her arms in an iron hold.

The six approached.

"Thanks buddy," one said, leering at Harry all the while.

She shuddered.

"We'll let you have a go too, if you wa-"

The man had whipped out a gun, and was pointing it face blank at the man's head.

The man's face flushed red.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" yelled another. "Boss told you you'll get a go too!"

The man's eyes narrowed, then he aimed the gun downward and shot it at the offending man's feet.

"I'm afraid I am not interested." he stated coolly.

The shot man clutched his feet, howling in pain.

The man's eyes narrowed even further and became chips of ice.

"Leave."

The other five could not get out fast enough. They ran, leaving their injured behind. Now, that man, no, that pathetic creature was now left, crying and bumbling, and doing his best to drag himself away.

Harry saw the man go, and realized that she was not disturbed by the scene. A part of her was distantly surprised, while the other part thought maliciously, 'The man deserved it.'

She wondered when she had become so cynical. Probably a long time ago in her life as Harry James Potter. Harry Potter had changed after the war, when he finally realized that the ordinary Light witches and wizards could be just as bad- or worse- than Voldemort himself.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Was the man worried of her reaction? That would be the norm. But no, he did not seem worried, or even mildly bothered. His face was blank, and cold.

Their eyes met, her jade green ones with his icy blue.

Harry tilted her head. She really couldn't tell anything from his expression. She was almost tempted to use Legillimency. It had been a while since a person had stumped, but it was also true that for the past eighteen years of her life, she had only interacted with villagers. Though humans were complicated creatures, she had known the villagers her entire life and they had no practice in hiding their emotions.

Oh well. It would be rude to mind rape her temporary savior anyways.

Composing herself, Harry beamed. "Thank you." she said, most sincerely as she could manage.

The man gave a curt nod. "My pleasure," he replied smoothly. His eyes were very intent and focused. "You have a peculiar accent." he observed bluntly. Harry nodded. "Yes. I'm actually from Gongaga." Though really, her accent was more of a result of her previous British accent rather than because she lived in the outskirts of civilization.

"For what reason did you visit Midgar?"

Harry smiled impishly. "Isn't Midgar the land of opportunity?" Looking at his deadpan expression, she giggled. "Truthfully, I came here for Shinra."

The man twitched. Though he kept his smile, it looked less sincere.

"And what is your business with the company?" now it was more of a demand than polite inquisition. Harry sighed, pretending to not have noticed the change in his manners.

"My brother."

He raised his eyebrows, asking nonverbally to expand on her answer. She snorted inside her head. How commanding.

"I suppose I can pay you back this way," Harry said nodding agreeably. She didn't miss the flash of amusement that crossed his sly face at her words.

"I missed my brother, who left to work for the company three years ago. He does write home time to time, but I wanted to see him again."

The man nodded. "Then I wish you luck," he said, then turned away.

Harry didn't want to separate like that. Her arm shot out involuntarily, grabbing his right arm. "My name is Harry," she said brightly. "Can I ask the name of my savior?"

"...Reno." the man answered curtly.

Harry didn't miss a beat. "You're lying."

Surprised, the man narrowed his eyes. "You know who I am then?" he asked. Harry surprised him again then, by laughing gaily.

"Course not!" she replied. "I've only just met you after all!" Smirking, she half mock-whispered to his ear. "I've got a sixth sense for detecting liars, that's all."

Well, Harry supposed Magic was her sixth sense. After all, even though she was a hopeless Occlumens, she was a natural Legillimens. Not that she was purposely reading this man's mind, mind you, but she could tell when a person was lying.

She grinned, and bowed in the old wizarding way, right hand across her chest and left behind, and bowed with a flourish.

"Well, thank you, _Reno_!"

She raced away, quickly blending in with the narrow streets of the bumbling, half-finished city of Midgar.

"What an interesting character," mused Harry. " _Reno_ , now, was it?"

* * *

Rufus Shinra watched Harry leave with amused eyes, tapping his fingers against his gun rhythmically.

What an interesting character.

"Hello Harry," he said, watching the girl scurry away.

He smirked.

* * *

 **AN: Should I continue this?**


	2. Chapter 2

Harry berated herself for her own foolishness. After living her life in Gongaga her entire life as a Fair, she had gotten careless. If she had been Harry Potter, she would never have caught the thugs' attention by gazing curiously from one and to the next as she had previously just moments before. The peaceful years as a farmer's daughter in one of the most backwater areas of Gaea had actually gotten into her.

With that reprimanding thought, she calmed herself and shifted her gait to match that of the people around her. She wore shuffling feet and body tense with wariness and careful eyes like second skin.

It was uncomfortable, and she hated changing herself for anything, but she reminded herself that the attention she would get otherwise wasn't worth it.

It was only until she met Zack. She could manage that at least until then.

Her own idiocity and qualms of shifting her own behavior at least for the time being besides, Harry needed a place to stay for as long as she was in Midgar. She slipped her hands inside the pockets of her dress and fingered the cold metal of the coins. Harry frowned. Not much was left. Most had been spent in her travels. She could earn some coins by hunting down monsters, but today was a bit too late to be doing any hunting. And more importantly, this was Midgar. Jobs concerning monster extermination probably fell to the SOLDIERs in this area.

She didn't want to spend much money, she didn't have much left in the first place anyways, but shelter was a necessity.

But Lady Luck had always favored Harry James Potter, or Hadrienne Fair, and though she might have not known where to go, she was impeccably tuned in with magic.

From the slums under the sprawling city, she felt a pull she hadn't expected to be present beckoning to her.

Midgar lacked life. There was no tree or flower- not even the common dandelion could be seen poking out from the cracks of the cement. Natural life was nonexistent in this city that seemed more like a metal prison. But somehow, impossibly, there was a pull of life-giving magic below in the center of the lifeless districts.

Harry allowed herself to be pulled in, and managed to stumble across a church.

The church was ancient, and looked ready to collapse. But it was oddly homely, almost. In her first life, she never frequented churches. The Dursleys never took her there, and after, it seemed irrelevant. She was a witch, and that was explanation enough.

But this church was different.

Harry went to the front door, and knocked. No answer. She gently pushed to door open. It strained and creaked. "Is anyone here?" she questioned. Her word echoed throughout the empty church.

She looked around. It must have been magnificent before, she thought quietly. The paintings and sculptures, though grayed with age were quite lovely. She drifted to the long wooden benches. She placed her hands on it, and trailed her fingers on the wood. She lifted her hand and peered down at the dust that became accumulated on her fingers.

'Must have been empty for quite the while,' thought Harry, as she rubbed the dust away.

A satisfied smile reached her face.

Finally, a roof over her head, at last!

She dusted one of the long benches of the church and slipped into them in a sitting position. Her eyes fluttered close, and though she only meant to rest for a short while, fell into an unexpected deep sleep.

* * *

Harry woke up from the feel of sunlight on her eyelids. 'I must have been exhausted,' she realized, as she stretched her arms like a satisfied cat and lifted herself up to scan the empty chamber. It was still empty, and it seemed to be sometime around afternoon. She had slept through the rest of the day and night and then some.

Harry groaned. _Lazy._

Mother would chase her with the broom if she had been here. Despite being a farm girl Harry was always horrible with waking up. Farmers had to wake in the crack of dawn, but for Harry, her old life stayed with her, and she simply loved indulging herself in sleep.

It wasn't something she had been able to fix.

Harry opened the bag she had hugged while sleeping, and rummaging through it found her best dress. It was made of blue cotton, simple and clean.

Harry shrugged it on, glanced at her still dirty shoes, and cast a cleaning charm. Harry frowned at the less-than-spectacular results. She sighed. She never quite had the talent for cleaning spells, unfortunately, or any type of house-working charms, for that matter. A real pity, because it would have made her life much easier by cutting down her chores by half.

Sighing, she cast a Notice-Me-Not on her belongings and set foot outside the church.

* * *

It wasn't difficult to find Shinra's main building. It was simply in the heart of the city and the biggest building in the area. The biggest building she'd ever seen in this world, period. Steeling herself, Harry stepped into the main building of Shinra.

Harry felt the cool air conditioning, something that she never had in this life as she walked in. The lighting was fancy, and the marble floors were so polished that she could see her own reflection on them. The room reminded her of the Muggle offices of major companies in her past life. She certainly didn't feel as if she belonged here, where everyone in the building were wearing business suits or fancy modern clothing.

Harry stuck out like a sore thumb.

She realized belatedly that she should have watched the visitors of the building beforehand and then transfigured her clothing to match; but alas, what was done was done.

Half in anticipation and half in a bundle of nerves, she approached the receptionist table.

"How may I help you?" asked the woman behind the desk.

The woman was smartly dressed in a white blouse and a tight, black skirt that came up to her knees. She wore a golden name tag that said "Samantha Ingals." Ingals looked at Harry up and down, eyeing her simple farm-girl cotton dress with distaste surreptitiously, and sat back down, eyes on her computer as she typed away.

Unfortunately for Ingals, she wasn't as subtle as she thought herself to be.

Swallowing down her annoyance, Harry said politely, "I came to arrange a visitation with SOLDIER Fair, 2nd Class."

The woman stopped typing. "Excuse me?"

"I came to arrange a visitation with SOLDIER Fair, 2nd Class," repeated Harry evenly.

"Shinra does not arrange civilians and their SOLDIERs to meet casually, Miss-"

"Hadrienne Fair, Ms. Ingals," replied Harry. "I am Zack Fair's-"

Even before Harry had a chance to finish, the woman cut her off. Harry frowned.

"Fair?" said Ingals incredulously, typing away on her computer, not even having the grace to make eye contact with Harry. "Family member, I suppose? Are you his younger sister?" she drawled.

"No, I'm actually the older sister. "

Her words seemed to have passed through Ingals unheard.

The woman's surprised face now turned into one of annoyance. "Children," she shook her head. "Just because of SOLDIER Fair's rising popularity and relation to SOLDIER First Class Hewley…" she muttered.

Clearing her throat, she spoke up. "You cannot just demand a company member's time Miss... _Fair_ ," she patronized.

Harry clenched her hands into fists. It was obvious what Ingal's opinion of herself was.

"I am not lying, Ms. Ingals." Her temper might have flared, but she held it in. "Maybe you can take it with SOLDIER Fair himself. I'm sure he'll answer back positively."

The typing stopped. The woman then placed her hands on the marble table and gave Harry a tight smile. "Hadrienne, if I let every fan of SOLDIER through because of a flimsy backstory of being related, I would be long fired by now."

Harry didn't think much logically. A protest was soon on her lips. "But I'm not-"

"Do you have proof of your relation? Identification? A birth certificate, perhaps?"

Generally, citizens in cities such as Midgar had such identification. However, most country folk like those in Gongaga didn't have it, though they could apply for them. Zack had made one because he had needed one to apply for Shinra, but Harry herself had never bothered to register for it. She groaned inwardly.

"…No."

The woman clicked her tongue, shook her head and sighed. "Since you are quite young, I'll let you off easily."

Harry stared.

...What?!

* * *

Harry was still in slight disbelief as she was led outside by Ingals herself.

Ingals led her outside with a hand on Harry's shoulders, steering her outside of the company. All Harry could do was to hold onto her temper so that she did not blow up on the woman. 'It's not worth it, it's not worth it, it's not worth it,' she thought repeatedly with growing annoyance. Once outside, Ingals crossed her arms and looks down at Harry patronizingly.

"This is not a place where children can demand to meet SOLDIERs," she says. "Now don't you come back again, or there will be more consequences then just being guided out, Hadrienne."

The woman turned away sharply with the click of her heels.

Ingals's mouth was set in a professional, polite smile. Harry was almost tempted to use a tripping jinx on the woman as she walked her way back into the receptionist table.

Harry caught her own reflection on the polished glass. Dark black hair framed pale face despite the amount of time she spent outside. Her eyes were green, still Lily's eyes, and despite her being twenty-one, unfortunately, she was rather short. The poor clothes probably didn't help either, and her lean muscles were covered by her long sleeves.

In her opinion, she didn't look too much different from her past life other than the longer hair, and in those days, she had never been dismissed so easily. But that could have been because of her reputation as the Boy-Who-Lived, and later as the Man-Who-Conquered. She knew such titles and her own personal wealth made poor choice of clothing or manners be looked over.

Harry sighed. She was twenty one, for Merlin's sake, plus she had even more decades on her for the years she lived as Harry Potter. She was not a child.

Huffing, Harry walked away, eyeing the Shinra building in annoyance.

* * *

When Harry re-entered the church, she realized that she was not alone.

"Oh, you must be the owner of that backpack!" exclaimed a young girl, pointing to her bag that Harry was certain she'd put under a Notice-Me-Not charm.

A pretty, brown haired girl was staring at her, with gorgeous eyes that reminded Harry of a fawn. The girl was crouched over a small patch of greenery. Oh. The reason for nature magic flowing deeply in the middle of such a dead city was her. Nature magic seemed to gravitate towards the brunette.

Harry had never seen a person so in tune with nature magic before.

"Is this church yours?" Harry asked. "I've been staying here yesterday, I thought it was abandoned, to be honest. I'm sorry I trespassed without permission." The girl shook her head. "No, no. Anyone is welcome in this church."

"Really?" Harry asked, smile on her lips. "Thank you."

Harry eyed the flowers the girl was tending to.

"Flowers... Wow. I can't believe I didn't notice them yesterday," Harry murmured.

"You didn't notice them at all?" the flower girl asked, clearly surprised.

"Nope," answered Harry. The girl giggled. "You must have been really tired! They really pop out in this area, after all."

And added to the fact that it was the pull of life that led Harry here... She really was out of her game. If anyone from her past saw her, heck, if Moody saw her... No, she really didn't want to think about that.

Harry winced. "I suppose..."

"Do you grow them?" But Harry already knew the answer. Of course she grew them. In this place that lacked life, the flower girl was the only one teeming with life. Who else could have possibly performed such a miracle?

"Flowers in Midgar," Harry mused. "You must have quite the green thumb."

Harry then held out her hand, and beamed, channeling her inner Zack. Because it was a easily known fact from anybody who knew Zack Fair that it was impossible to refuse him when he shot them his patented smile. "My name is Hadrienne Fair. You are?"

The flower girl took Harry's hands. "I'm Aerith. Hello, Hadrienne."

The smile she gave Harry was small and tentative, but so, so adorable. "Call me Harry," Harry said quickly. "And can I help?" she asked, glancing back and forth between Aerith and her flowers. "Of course, I'd love it," was Aerith's reply.

Harry found herself enjoying more than she expected, helping Aerith tend to her flowers. It was very relaxing, especially after such a mentally exhausting day. It reminded her of the carefree times in Gongaga with her brother, of plenty of sunlight and sweet smelling earth.

"Harry, why did you come to the church for shelter?" Aerith asked, full of curiosity. She paused then quickly said, "Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I don't mind," said Harry. "Maybe you noticed, but I'm not from around here. I'm actually from Gongaga, and I guess it was _magic_ ," Harry smiled slyly and stressed the word, "that led me down here."

Aerith leaned in closer, curiosity showing. "From Gongaga? That's like really far away, isn't it? Why would you leave?"

"Well, my brother is in SOLDIER."

"Ah..." Aerith trailed off. Was it just her, or did Aerith look slightly uncomfortable?

Harry sighed dramatically. "But then I got rejected."

"Um... What?"

Harry started her tirade. "Can you believe it, Aerith?" she asked mock seriously. "The receptionist took one look at me and said I was lying," she said with a scrunched face.

"Hmph. I don't _ever_ lie," she said, indignant.

Aerith couldn't help but giggle at Harry's expression. With a sly smile, she asked, "Maybe you can just sneak in? Shinra's pretty annoying, don't you agree?"

Harry's eyes gleamed.

Aerith stopped herself, eyes round. Something in Harry's expression made her nervous.

"That's absolutely brilliant, Aerith."

"...You're not taking me literally. Right, Harry?"

"Of course not," waved off Harry, her expression faux innocent. Aerith watched Harry suspiciously, but didn't know what to say. Surely, her new friend couldn't be contemplating to break into Shinra. That was just pure stupidity, outrageousness, and a death sentence, all rolled into one.

But Harry Fair was not the (past) son of a Marauder for nothing.

Harry redirected Aerith back to gardening. "Aerith, would you rather I pull out the dandelions or replant them near the corner..?"

* * *

"A thank you gift."

In Aerith's hand was a dumbapple. The sweet, tangy smell rose from the fruit.

Harry thanked her and picked it up, admiring the fruit. She'd read about it, but dumbapples didn't grow in Gongaga. She'd never actually bought and eaten one before. Aerith took out another. She brought it up to her mouth and bit into the sweet flesh. Juice dribbled down from her mouth to her chin. Aerith chewed slowly, and swallowed. "It's pretty good," she said teasingly.

Laughing, Harry bit into her own dumbapple. It _was_ good, and reminicent of apples back on earth.

They spent their day gardening and laughing and talking, and when Aerith invited Harry over to her own home and tempted her with a real bed with sheets, Harry found herself unable to refuse.

She glanced ruefully to the small garden. She should have spent the day planning, but it was time well spent, she thought, thinking back to the flower girl with an innocent smile. After all, Aerith had given her a brilliant idea.

* * *

When Harry was certain Aerith who was curled up besides her had fallen entirely asleep, Harry decided that she was ready. She loved the flower girl, truely, but she wanted to meet her brother _now_ , and well, Aerith had been the one to give her the brilliant idea.

It would be a waste to not act upon it.

Harry opened the window and jump off, her feet light as a cat's as she landed on all fours safe and sound. Picking up a fallen piece of a rusted nail, she whispered, "Point me SOLDIER Headquarters."

The nail spun, spun, and landed in one direction like a sure compass pointing north.

* * *

 **AN: First of all, a huge thank you for everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I never expected this much enthusiasm for this story when I posted it. The last, 'should I continue?' was actually halfhearted at best because I never expected anyone to reply back. Seriously, I was (and still am) blown with the attention this story got.**

 **Thank you especially to Lilypad1820, I couldn't possibly leave this story as a oneshot because of the lovely review I got like a year back, lol.**

 **Sorry for the long wait, but you probably have no idea how many times I wrote this and scrapped it and rewrote it. I initially had several chapters written down, but I realized I didn't like the direction the story was going so I had to scrap them all. This was such a pain to pull out, despite being just the second chapter...**

 **Well, I hope this was worth the wait, and I also hope I manage write the next chapter before the year ends.**

 **Thanks for reading, and review!**

 **P.S. Zach had been changed to Zack (Haven't gotten to changing the first chapter yet... I'll get there... sometime.)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Shinra Headquarters..."

Harry stood in front of the towering building she had just visited before. SOLDIER Headquarters, apparently, was not a separate building but rather a part of Shinra Headquarters. The doors were the same polished glass, but the sky was dark and starless and something about the entire Midgar seemed ominous.

A hilarious notion, but her hands felt clammy and her body seemed to rebel.

Shaking her head, Harry dismissed the feeling quickly, and tugged down the cowl of the nondescript black cloak she had transfigured from an old ragged cloth trashed in the lower districts earlier. She would at least be able to pull off the look of a witch breaking in, even if she couldn't pull off the one looking like Zack's older sister.

Breaking into the Headquarters was simple enough. Alohomora fried the electrical locks and Harry went in without a problem. She almost missed the camera in the entrance but she used her magic to put over a false image over them.

There was to be no records of her sneaking in.

...Well, except for the soon to be reunion which then evidence would be Zack's own memories but Harry knew her brother could keep secrets for her.

She slipped inside the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator did not come up with visitor-friendly labels for the upper floors, nor were those upper level floors accessible without card keys. Sighing slightly, Harry pressed the elevator button to as high as she could go, which was unfortunately only the 6th floor.

No matter. Harry's plan _-_ it wan't nonexistent, really _-_ had been paying a visit to the surveillance rooms to begin with. After all, even if her magic could override the elevator so that all floors became accessible, Harry did not fancy visiting floor after floor to find Zack. Dragging time just meant a larger room for error.

Because unfortunately because the Point Me spell was as good as useless now to find the proper layouts of the building now that she was in it. The spell was similar to a compass in the way that for the spell, the spoken destination was like north to a muggle compass. Being so near the destination made the spell useless, like how the compass was useless in the North Pole.

The elevator gave a soft ping and opened. The hallways were dark and empty, but Harry could hear distant footsteps, approaching her direction.

Harry ran across the halls and stood in a different hallway that had the elevator in clear view, waiting. Soon, she saw the light of a flashlight as the guard in a uniform rounded up the corner.

"You-" the man did not get to pull out his weapon or even finish his sentence as she slid next to him and slammed him on his temple.

The man passed out.

She looked down at the fallen guard. The poor man, most likely a security guard and definitely not SOLDIER like Zack since, weren't they reputated to be unbeatable by the poor, normal folks of Gaea? If a SOLDIER got knocked out this easily, Harry would be severely disappointed for Zack if this was what he had left for. Shinra and their fake propagandas... But no, he was just a normal man.

After all, his limbs were not muscled heavily nor did she see his eyes glow blue- though she could have easily missed that due to the glow of the flashlight.

Harry wondered exactly how much time would pass before the whole place went full on alert. The building was big enough, and Shinra was rich enough, to hire multiple night guards. She searched his body and found an identity card and card keys, and hoped those were the ones that could take her all the way up to the SOLDIER floors.

But well...

To her, morals were finicky little things, but she was an older sister. Harry had to be a model for Zack, even if he would never know about half the things she had done. Breaking in didn't make her feel guilty, it was for a good cause after all; but mind-rape was a different matter. It would make things so much easier to just steal the guard's memories of SOLDIER Floors and Apparate, she wasn't _that_ desperate.

At least, not yet.

Maybe forgoing the far easier, simpler, _faster_ solution would come and bite her back. But Harry really, really didn't want to face her little brother after all this time with tainted hands and a heavy heart.

* * *

Careful steps and guesswork led Harry to the surveillance rooms.

Harry stood next to the metal doorway, back pressed firmly to the wall as she listened in alertly. It was all dark, but faint blue light leaked from the creaks in the door. 'They must be videotapes,' she thought, as she leaned in.

"Jude, could you check to see what's taking Chris so long?"

"Why me," grumbled the youthful voice.

Harry opened the entrance while muffling the door so that if the door creaked, no sound would be heard.

"'Cause you're the youngest," snickered another. "Now get beatin' and come at me with the idiot trailing behind ya or don't come back at all."

She counted three men inside, all wearing the same uniform and gathered around in front of the screens showing all corners of Shinra, and she decided that they must be the rest of the security.

One was sitting on a table far to the right with one hand on a mug, flicking several pages worth of papers in a bored motion. Another's eyes were glued to the screen and the youngest one was looking at the other two back and forth.

The youngest made few weak protests but in the end acquiesced. As he was about to turn to her direction, she backed away from the entrance.

The security guard was completely out of sight of the other two guards when Harry moved. He was not expecting her, and the dark hallways hid Harry so that he entirely missed her as well. She pulled the young guard- more a boy than a man- close and put a finger to her lips.

"Shhhh," she said with an impish grin. The guard froze, shocked. She took him out with a gentle touch to his forehead, stunning him immobile, and left him as an unconscious slump on the floor.

"Hey, what was that noise? Jude?"

Harry pulled of her cowl and stood in front of the door, with a clear, apologetic expression.

The two guards, older than the previous one gaped at her.

She strode in as if it was the most natural thing in the world, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry sirs, but I think I'm lost. I'd appreciate if you could lead me to the SOLDIER Floors?"

One man instinctively glanced over behind him, and Harry saw that the papers his eyes had landed on were the layouts to the building. Harry grinned.

"What in the seven blazin' hells-"

Harry smiled sweetly and knocked one out with force and stunned the other with a wiggle of her hands.

"Sorry, but you'll have a slight headache later," she murmured. Harry dragged the young guard she'd left at the door as well, and used a quick Obliviate to take only the memories of herself out of the three guards' minds. For all appearances, they had just fallen asleep- nobody would believe it, but without evidence, they would never be able to do anything about it.

She was the only one standing, and she stood, satisfied. And truth be told, the three fallen security guards had never had a chance. Harry really shouldn't feel this smug about this of all things, really.

But who said some self-appreciation wasn't healthy?

Harry pulled the cowl back on with one hand and grabbed the layout she had eyed earlier while talking with the other, and tried to find the SOLDIER Floors. The layouts were labeled from Floor B10 to Floor 70, and scanning the pages, SOLDIER Floor was apparently on Floor 49. The other detail in the map were markings of several black squares in several locations on each Floors with numbers written next to them.

Harry looked up the screens, and although she was an idiot with computers, even she could make connections between the numbers on each right hand upper corner of the small screens and the numbers written in the layouts.

The layout was a map for the locations of each cameras.

Harry placed the layout back on the table and scanned the cameras diagonally, realizing that that those rows were cameras on the same Floor. She searched for Floor 49, and then, it was obvious that the floor was for SOLDIERs. It had all the training equipment, things she had seen in fitness centers and more, and several offices, and some rooms that had been marked in the layout did not appear in the screens.

The area that didn't appear, Harry guessed, could be the SOLDIER dorms. It would be a heavy breach of privacy if the guards could see from cameras here, though the black boxes and numbers indicated that there were cameras situated on those places as well.

Maybe there was a higher level security-guard in Shinra, or maybe they just recorded without watching to use the recordings only when some problems came up.

Either way, it was unfortunate that their were no direct cameras to the SOLDIER dorms but then again, she would have filed a complaint to the company later if it was true but it would have made everything a lot more simpler.

No matter. Harry committed Floor 49, to be exact, the area shown by camera that was closest to the area with no surveillance, to memory.

Harry placed the files back to their places. She counted the time. It had been about thirty-five minutes since she'd entered the building. She didn't know exactly when the shifts ended for the three men that she'd just stunned, and if they were discovered too soon, it would be... detrimental.

Harry wasn't really worried, though. After all, what were the consequences? It wasn't as if they had any evidence of a break in, and even if they did, they didn't know what she looked like. And who would suspect her? Especially since most people, without evidence, fell into the trap of the male pronoun involuntarily leading to a more closed perception.

Everything would be fine.

Harry envisioned Floor 49 from the eyes of the camera, took a deep breath, and Apparated.

* * *

It was just her luck then, that she landed on top of a man in her Apparation.

"What the fuck-"

She shouted out her own expletive in her head. He hadn't been there just a moment ago when she was watching the cameras. Why the hell was this man now squirming beneath her?!

She took a moment and thanked her own foresight to steal a conveniently placed basic black cloak to cover her body and face. Actually, she should thank Ingals really, since her actions making her thinking about proper outfits had made her care enough to cover own self for this venture. But still, such a blatant breaking in was... No, she really didn't want to think about that.

The red haired man twisted, gun in one hand and the other grasping her ankle. He was much, much faster than the poor guard she'd stunned earlier. Harry fired a stunner, but it slipped off of him.

She narrowed her eyes. He had definitely used _something_ on himself. These were the times she realized how much education she lacked in this world. She did not know what exactly he did, because she didn't know what types of materia existed, if there were anyone who could use magic without materia like wandless magic. She wanted to learn but such knowledge did not exist in Gongaga and her cravings to learn was definitely lesser than the desire to stay with her very own family.

Nonetheless, the redhead must have done that something as soon as she fell on top of him- it wasn't as if anyone with their few cents would have realized she was a very capable magic user- and take fast precautions against spells. Whatever. If she couldn't effect his body directly...

Fire burst from her hands and the sudden light in his face made the red-hair flinch. She used the opportunity to kick him away, using magic to reinforce her strength.

He slammed into the wall. He coughed into his hands, and she winced as she took in the coppery scent of blood.

She made a move to reach for him that she aborted halfway when she came to her senses and realized that the man, with red on his lips was _grinning_.

"There's fucking nowhere you can run to, yo," he said nastily.

What...

Then he slammed down on the emergency bells behind him.

Damn it.

The room was filled with a high pitched shriek as it rang, and the building seemed to light up in flashing red.

Seeing Zack had just gotten postponed to be a lot longer.

* * *

Harry breathed heavily as she landed next to the church. She had been in the SOLDIER Floors when she had been outed. Which meant that as soon as the alarms blared, Harry knew that SOLDIERs would rush in.

Really, she'd escaped with just the skin of her teeth. Even if she could Apparate, she had to do it when no-one was in grabbing distance from her and with SOLDIER reflexes and numbers against her, that would have spelled disaster.

Back to the church, it had been the first place that crossed her mind. Well, all the better. Harry needed to think up of excuses in case Aerith realized she'd slipped off during the night. She remembered the way back to Aerith's house, it would be fine.

Except surprisingly, light was pouring out of the church.

Harry winced. Aerith must have woken up, and when she realized she was gone, must have gone to the church. Putting on an apologetic expression on her face, she pulled off her cloak and walked in.

To be met face to face with Aerith glaring at an Asian man on the phone- okay, Wutainian,with a tilak on the middle of his forehead and in a blue suit identical to that of that redhead who had outed her back in the Shinra Headquarters.

The Wutanian and Harry's eyes met.

...

Belatedly, Aerith turned around as well, and a smile blossomed on her worried face as her eyes landed on the previously missing, black-haired girl.

"Harry? Where were you, I was so worried!" exclaimed Aerith.

The man's suit was identical to the redhead.

She froze. Alarm bells rang in her head. It... it was impossible, how had they gotten here so fast? And why was Aerith with them? Harry wouldn't be able to forgive herself if her actions harmed Aerith in any way.

The Wutanian took in her expression, and his gaze shifted to the cloak in her hand.

Harry's eyes belatedly trailed to the cloak. Why was she so utterly _stupid-_

"...I think I have the culprit," said the man over the phone in a even, low voice, without taking his eyes off from her.

Harry could have left, if not for Aerith. Why had she thought this would be a good idea again? Why did she think this would be fun?

Aerith's eyes turned wide. "What are you talking about Tseng?" Suddenly, Harry wavered in her first assessment. Familiar, Aerith was familiar with this man- Tseng. And Harry was quite certain that he hadn't followed her here, which only left...

"Wait, don't you dare-" said Aerith threateningly.

The phone fell out of the man's hands as the man grabbed Aerith to his side, one hand caging her in and the other covering her mouth. Aerith stood defenselessly against him, forced against her will and unable to speak, but clearly angry, no, furious.

She protested heavily, but her words turned out to be incomprehensible, muffled.

It was a threatening position but to Harry, Tseng did not seem dangerous to Aerith.

 _You … this isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do … sort of … I mean... don't you think you've got a bit of a saving-people thing?_

That didn't mean that Harry could just leave her.

"Harry, is it?" asked Tseng out loud. His voice was cold and unruffled.

'Points for the realistic acting,' thought Harry to herself.

Harry admitted her loss quickly and easily. They knew her face and name, she'd visited Shinra officially just hours ago and, and soon, if the people working in Shinra's intelligence had even half a brain, everything else would be revealed as well. Even she couldn't erase the memories of a person over a phone.

And Harry most definitely had no plans to live the rest of her life in hiding and as an enemy of Shinra- especially when her brother worked there.

Another oops. One that couldn't be forgiven if anything happened to him. If she didn't play this nicely, it would be her own brother on the line.

"...How did get here so quickly?"

Because all facts considered, it was impossible for them to have reached her so fast.

But an inkling of what happened crossed her mind in what was the most ridiculous bundle of coincidences. Tseng had never _tracked her down_ in the first place.

"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?" said the man smoothly. He tilted his head slightly, and Harry realized another was subtly approaching her from the back. Tseng was amusing her to buy them time, Harry knew he was, but she'd rather pretend not to know and hear his answer.

People usually spoke truth when they could feel victory just steps away, and when they needed to buy time. One could ramble, but they usually rambled based on truth.

This was both.

"You're plan was executed perfectly, but for one fatal flaw."

Harry's mind whirled. Tseng himself had been surprised. Which meant he realized only because of her reaction to him and the cloak she'd carried. It was luck on their part. Luck because they'd never expected her yet had their eyes on her the entire time.

"Aerith Gainsborough is constantly under the Turk's surveillance," Harry whispered, finally connecting the lines and understanding the full picture.

Harry had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to be knocked unconscious but Aerith had not given in to that fact yet. Her struggles grew even more frantic. Dragging a hand across her face and sighing overdramatically, Harry said pointedly to the one behind her.

"Get on with it now would you?"

From the spaces between her fingers she saw Aerith still, and Tseng's eyes widen slightly.

Hands reached from behind and covered her mouth and nose with cloth in sharp, quick movements. Chloroform, thought Harry, and spared a final glance for her female friend. Shooting her for what she hoped was an apologetic, I'll-be-fine-don't-you-worry grin, she took in a deep breath and fell into the depths of her unconsciousness.

Tseng wouldn't kill her, at least not without digging for information first to make sure such a break in never happened again. She also hoped that her cooperation in the capture would win her some points.

...She could hope.

Harry was going to have a chance to explain herself. And Harry would do anything, anything, so that Zack or her parents or Aerith; that her precious people were safe an unharmed. They wouldn't be hurt because of her, she would never allow that to happen.

Harry was glad for once Hermione was no longer with her. The witch would have flayed her alive.

* * *

Harry woke up to harsh lights and with the feeling of cold steel of the chair pressing onto her back. Her hands were bound by rough rope that went around her wrists and arms.

A man sat across from her, a table between them.

"Awake now?"

* * *

 **AN: Quote "saving people thing" is directly taken from Harry Potter. Nothing you recognize is mine.**

 **Next up would be Turks, Turks, and more Turks, and their solution to the problem that is Harry. Not sure if Rufus or Zack would be able to make an appearance, I'll see how the next chapter goes.**

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.^^**

 **Thank you.**


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